Aviation and religious studies student Eri Ohashi spent this past summer working on a research project looking at the history of women in Canada’s aviation industry ― thanks to an independent student research grant. From Tokyo, Japan, Ohashi says being able to do both aviation and liberal arts was one of the reasons she decided to come to Mount Allison.

“My high school in Japan has a connection to Mount Allison, I visited campus for a one-week program one summer and became familiar with the school,” she says. “University in Canada is a lot different from university in Japan. As an international student, I think it’s good for students to experience these differences in culture.”

Ohashi is minoring in religious studies as part of her aviation degree and is worked with Dr. Susan Andrews in religious studies for her summer research. She travelled to Ottawa earlier in the summer to visit the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum as part of her research project.

“Parts of this research are very challenging. There isn’t much documentation about female pilots, especially commercial ones since the first hires were only in the 1970s. This subject definitely includes a political aspect of women and gender studies.”

Ohashi presented her research, From the Periphery to the Cockpit: A Study of Women in the Material Culture of Canadian Aviation, as part of Mount Allison’s annual Summer Undergraduate Research Fair (SURF) in September.

Outside of the classroom and the flight deck, Ohashi also volunteers as a Chapel assistant, is a member of the Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship on campus, the University International Centre’s mentorship program, and Global Brigades MtA, travelling to Honduras in 2018.